


A Perfect Ten

by emynn (orphan_account)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-24
Updated: 2010-10-24
Packaged: 2017-10-23 15:22:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/251913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/emynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing about this was expected.</p><p>Written in honor of ten years of Snarry. Here's to 10^10 more!</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Perfect Ten

Ten seconds. That’s how long Severus expected his conversation with Harry Potter to last. Enough time for a perfunctory greeting and inquiry of the other’s health before returning to their meals, Severus in silence and Harry chatting with his other new colleagues.

He really should have known better. Potter did, of course, live to defy expectations, especially when those expectations would allow Severus a modicum of peace and quiet. But there they were, at least an hour after the rest of the staff had retired for the evening, discussing the Ministry’s latest ruling forbidding further exploration of the uses of dragon blood.

Severus was tempted to slip Potter a Conditioning Concoction, a harmless potion that added body and sheen to hair but also had the interesting side effect of counteracting Polyjuice Potion, but it had been years since he’d been able to have an intellectual conversation of this caliber and he wasn’t about to give it up just yet, Potter imposter or no.

Potter yawned and looked down at his watch. “Wow, it’s almost ten already. I guess I should get back. Don’t want to fall asleep in front of my students on my first day of class.”

Severus made a sound of assent and rose. “Indeed. I have a potion to tend to myself.” It was a lie – contrary to popular belief, he _did_ have other interests besides potions, but there was a ridiculous desire bubbling up within him to impress upon Potter that he was a Very Busy and In Demand Individual.

Potter nodded. His brow wrinkled, as though he were trying to figure out a puzzle. “Listen,” he said hesitantly, “Would you like to continue this tomorrow? Perhaps we could grab some drinks in Hogsmeade to celebrate surviving the first day of the school year? That is, assuming I survive,” he added with a nervous laugh.

“I don’t drink on school nights.” _Fool, Severus!_ Now he sounded like a prim maiden. _Not_ that it concerned him what Potter thought of him. Still, perhaps he could salvage this…. “Tea would be acceptable. My rooms after supper?”

Potter nodded. Really, that grin on his face was positively absurd. One would have thought he had just been given a talking puppy that flew through the air and also doubled as a comfortable pillow the way that smile just took over his entire face.

Absurd.

“That sounds wonderful. I’m looking forward to it. Sir.”

“Severus,” he corrected. And then, with a final nod, he turned to leave.

~*~

Ten minutes of silence.

Severus busied himself stirring more sugar into his tea. It would most likely be undrinkable – he had already added a spoonful each time the silence became overwhelming, so he was probably about to down a cup of tea-flavored sugar at this point.

Naturally, he blamed Potter. He vaguely recalled that his friend Granger’s parents were dentists. He was probably in cahoots with those Muggles to supply them with patients with teeth riddled with cavities. Ha! As if Severus would fall for that stunt. He banished the cup’s contents with a wordless, wandless spell and then casually pretended to sip at it.

Potter clearly was actually drinking his, if the hiss of pain was any indication. Severus _did_ brew his tea hot.

“This is ridiculous.” Potter spoke with a slight lisp. Severus was secretly pleased he was not the only one suffering from the bloody tea. “We talked for three hours last night. How can we suddenly not have anything to say?”

“Perhaps you ran out of all your semi-intelligent thoughts?” Severus suggested. “I’ve heard that some individuals have dreadfully limited brain capacity.”

Potter rolled his eyes. “Har bloody har.” He paused. “I did really like talking with you.”

“I found it more passable than I expected,” Severus admitted.

Potter smiled, more at ease. “Great. Well, then I say we should just stop overthinking it.”

“I would never accuse you of overthinking,” Severus felt obligated to say, but he couldn’t find the energy to imbue the statement with any rancor.

“Of course not. Say, I managed to stop by the library today and checked out that book you recommended by Sariah Swingle. You didn’t tell me it was thick enough to use as a doorstop!”

“Ah, my apologies, I forgot you had yet to progress past comic books.”

Potter grinned and leaned back in his chair. “Hush.”

Severus did _not_ hush. Rather, his teaching skills at the ready, he attempted to engage Potter in the same level of intellectual conversation they had the previous night. Much to his surprised pleasure, Potter did admirably well.

The clock chimed ten, and as if on cue, Potter yawned. His jaw cracked.

“Quite an attractive look on you. It’s a wonder you’re single.”

Potter chuckled. “Nobody’s ever complained.”

“Certainly not. What sane woman could deny such a charming visage?”

“Aww, Snape, I didn’t know you cared!” Potter pressed a hand to his chest and batted his eyes. Severus resisted the urge to throw his teacup at him. “Unfortunately, ladies fawning over me doesn’t help me much.”

“I don’t see why not. You don’t even need to Summon them, just open your mouth and…”

“I like men,” Potter interjected.

 _Oh._

Severus felt all the breath leave his body. Perhaps the tea was poisoned. Oh, but he didn’t have any tea. Damn it. What could he blame this reaction on? He didn’t just suddenly become hyper aware of the blood rushing through his veins for no reason, after all!

“Is that a problem?”

Severus felt his head shake.

Potter looked relieved. “Good. So, any plans for tomorrow?” Severus’s head started to shake on its own accord again, but Potter suddenly blushed and quickly said, “Oh, I didn’t mean it had to be with me! I was just curious. Not that I wouldn’t mind being with you. I just…oh, bugger.”

Severus stood up.

“I should leave,” Potter said, and he hurried to gather his things.

Severus grabbed his arm. And then, again, without even being conscious of doing so, he leaned down and kissed him.

For a few seconds or ten, he was afraid he had made a horrible mistake. But then Potter began to kiss back, and at that point it just seemed rude to stop.

Nobody left for a good while after that.

~*~

Severus paced back and forth in his sitting room. He had been on edge all day. His dream still haunted him – he and Harry were curled up on his bed, and things were just starting to get interesting. Then he looked up, and Harry’s eyes melted from green to hazel, and it was James Potter above him, mocking him. Suddenly Severus was thirteen again, his voice still breaking, and he was kicking and screaming at James to get off of him, to just get off…

He woke up hopeless tangled in his sheets and spent the rest of the day walking about in a confused daze. Harry was due to arrive at three so they could ostensibly mark papers together, but ever since that first visit ten days ago, those sessions usually evolved into hours of learning less of exactly what their students’ minds processed and more of how their bodies reacted to a touch, kiss, or caress. Severus, much to his surprise, had come to greatly look forward to those times, but now he was considering running just to avoid them. That prickling unease just underneath his skin was most disconcerting.

“Severus?”

He cursed under his breath and let Harry in.

“Can’t tell you how happy I am to be here now.” Harry gave him a swift kiss on the cheek and tossed his bag onto the coffee table. “I swear, the first years have taken to stalking me. They just keep popping out of corners – ‘Professor Potter, I don’t understand the difference between a hex and a curse!’ ‘Professor Potter, I feel like my arm movement isn’t exactly right!’ ‘Professor Potter, save me!’ It’s enough to drive a man mad.”

He fell into the sofa and set his feet up on the table. “It’s great to have a place to escape.”

“Now you understand why I seldom leave my rooms,” Severus forced himself to say. He took a seat opposite Harry, who gave him a puzzled look.

“Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” There, that sounded positively unconcerned and not at all strained. He lied to the Dark Lord for years, he could fib to Harry Potter, damn it!

“Well, you haven’t told me off for having my feet on the table, for one.”

“Feet off the table, Potter.”

Harry rolled his eyes but obeyed. “Don’t you want to sit here, with me?”

“I’d prefer not to be distracted. I have a great number of papers to make my way through.”

Harry sighed. “Same. Best get started then, right?”

“Indeed.” He began reading the first paper in his pile. _Cynthia Soullie, prepare for a bloodbath._

Yet despite the sharp quill in his hand just itching to take the twit down a notch, he couldn’t concentrate.

“You’re staring.”

Yes, he was staring. But how could he help it? He needed to remind himself of how Harry’s eyes were green, not hazel, how his upper lip was just slightly thinner than the lower, how his nose turned up ever so slightly. He needed to see Harry still carried himself like a boy growing more comfortable in a new home, not an arrogant fool who treated each space as though it were part of his God-given empire. He needed to see that tiny mole just underneath his left eye, the one that he loved to kiss. He needed to see that blasted _scar_ , to know this was _Harry_ Potter, damn it, not James.

“No I’m not.”

“Yeah, whatever. Keep telling yourself that.”

Severus glared at him and swooped up his papers. “Fine, you obnoxious cretin. I will work at my desk, where I have _no_ possible way of seeing you.”

“Probably for the best if just the sight of me drives you to such distraction,” Harry smirked.

Severus growled and stalked to his desk. He slammed his papers down. “If you know what is good for you, you will leave me alone in _silence_ until I give you leave.”

Harry mimed zipping his grinning lips. Infuriating boy had the maturity of those first-years they were both cursed to teach. With a snarl, Severus returned to his papers.

 _Wrong, wrong. Incorrect. Poor execution. Lazy. Sloppy penmanship. Uneven margins._

He heard a distant giggle but chose to ignore it.

 _Blue as the ocean, what utter tripe. I swear, they grow more daft by the year._

A distinct snicker.

“What did I tell you, Potter?” Severus snapped.

Harry was standing in front of him, a damp cloth in hand and a shy smile on his face. “I know. And don’t go thinking I don’t value my hide. It’s just that,” he took the cloth and gently wiped Severus’s cheek, “you were so engrossed in ripping their egos to shreds, I’m afraid you weren’t paying much attention to your own.”

Severus gaped at the ink-stained cloth. “Give me that,” he muttered, reaching out to snatch it.

Harry snatched it right back. “I don’t think so. Look at me.”

Severus allowed Harry to hold his face in his hands and wipe away the ink. In his mind’s eye, he was back to when he was thirteen, feeling confident in the way he only could after knowing he had successfully completed a difficult exam, the sole regularly-occurring boost his ego enjoyed, only to encounter a crowing James Potter in the corridor, mocking him for the black splatters on his face. Time and time again his slight joy at not being an utter failure was tainted by Potter’s taunts and mockery.

He focused on the green of Harry’s eyes, on that tiny mole on his cheek, on the slight tilt of his nose but found he didn’t need to anymore. He saw only Harry, who was still smoothing the cloth over his face as though he were bathing a small child, whose eyes glittered with fond amusement, who saw Severus in a vulnerable position and didn’t humiliate him, but took care of him.

This was Harry. _His_ Harry.

Harry’s movements had stilled. Severus grabbed the wrist that still rested by his face.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Harry smiled, and it was like the sun rising over a shipwreck.

Severus tugged at his hand and pressed his lips to it. “I believe the papers can wait for the moment.”

And that marked the beginning of a new era in Severus’s life…when he could only think of Harry.

~*~

Severus paced back and forth in his sitting room, his aggravation mounting with each step. That insufferable little cretin. How _dare_ he make a fool of him?

A slow knock distracted him from his increasingly wrathful thoughts. “Come in,” he barked.

Harry stepped inside and quietly shut the door. “Hey.”

“So kind of you to grace me with your presence tonight, Mister Potter.” Oh, how it ached to revert to his old lethally velvet voice on Harry, but he had no choice.

“Severus?”

“Unfortunately, it is ten o’clock and I’m afraid I am simply worn out from the day. Good evening.”

“Bollocks,” Harry snapped. “You’re never in bed that early. So why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing at all. I simply expected that, after ten months of being together, you would treat me with a modicum of respect. Clearly I was mistaken. You may leave.”

Harry tried to grab his arm, but Severus jerked it away.

“Severus, please, tell me what I did. I mean, I wasn’t even here for most of the day, so I really don’t know – ”

“Precisely, Potter,” he snarled, the pain searing his belly. “You were not here. Did it not occur to you that on your birthday, your lover _may_ wish to celebrate with you? Something that is _quite_ difficult to do if you are _not bloody here_!”

Harry’s eyes were wide. “You never mentioned anything. I didn’t think you cared. I was just visiting Ron and Hermione.”

“I’m in love with you, of course I fucking care!” Severus shouted.

Harry’s jaw dropped. Severus paused and thought back to what he had said. Just something about…oh, hell. That was _not_ what he meant. The air seemed to grow too quiet, too tense around him.

“I didn’t – ”

“Shut up,” Harry whispered, shaking his head. “Just, shut up.”

“Harry.”

Harry raised his chin, his eyes meeting Severus’s gaze. There was a look in them he had never seen. Something intense and almost frightening. In a heartbeat, Harry was in his arms.

“I love you too, you paranoid old bastard,” he breathed. “I love you too.”

The kiss was like nothing Severus had planned. Clearly, Harry not yet even noticed the candle-lit table behind them, and had no idea Severus had spent the day seeing to every detail so the meal would consist of only his favorites. He couldn’t know that Severus had spent more than three months’ salary to purchase new robes, a top-of-the-line broom, and two portkeys to Italy. He had no way of knowing the day before Severus had visited Gringotts to retrieve the Prince family bonding rings. He could not have guessed the efforts Severus went through to ensure Harry knew he cared for him more deeply than anybody else in his life, that Harry was treated with the utmost tenderness, that they would hopefully spend the entire night making love.

Because there was no gentleness in this kiss. It was desperate, and possessing, and Severus knew he was forfeiting his entire body and soul to this beautiful man.

But, he thought as he absently threw a few more warming charms over the dinner still sitting on the table behind them, he did not mind in the slightest.

~*~

“Beautiful,” Harry murmured as he gently wiped a soft cloth over Severus’s sticky stomach. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“You don’t have your glasses on. I hardly feel you are in the position to make such assessments.” Severus knew the bite he intended probably lost some of its effect, given the way he arched into Harry’s touch and practically preened at the attention, but he was so relaxed at the moment he truly did not care.

“Hush.” Harry set down the cloth and insinuated himself under Severus’s arms. Severus held him tightly. They may both have been too utterly shagged to move, but he still didn’t want to take any chances of Harry escaping.

“If only my twelve-year-old self could see us now.”

Severus arched a brow. “I’m afraid that would be horribly inappropriate. Young children should not be exposed to such rampant buggery. Although you always were precocious…”

Harry snorted into Severus’s chest. “That’s not what I meant. Who ever would have thought that I would still be at Hogwarts, married to a man…a man who happened to be the teacher who made my life a living hell for seven years?”

Severus stiffened. It was true, of course, but he disliked talking about that stage in their lives. So much had changed in the ten years he and Harry had been together that he almost did not recognize the man he had been before.

“Are you suffering regrets?”

Harry laughed and thrust his body up against Severus’s. His prick was soft, but it was a lovely gesture nonetheless. “Does this feel like I’m suffering any regrets?”

“You always did think with your cock.”

Harry sighed and hoisted himself up so Severus was trapped underneath his arms. “Severus. I said this wasn’t what I expected. That doesn’t mean I’m not thrilled this is the way my life turned out. As far as I’m concerned, every minute, every day, every month, every _year_ with you has been absolutely perfect.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Try me.” Harry sat back, straddling Severus’s thighs, a challenge in his eyes.

“Fine. The time you were four hours late and I fed your broom to the wood pixies?”

Harry shrugged. “I didn’t have a broom for a week to distract me from you. And I hadn’t really seen you in ages with our schedules.”

“And the time you thought I was sleeping with Narcissa?”

Harry placed a soft kiss on his chest. “I was a right idiot. But you know, I think it may have done us some good for you to see I have insecurities as well.”

Severus decided to let that insecurities line slide. He _certainly_ didn’t have any of those, but he did not feel like embarrassing Harry at the moment. He dredged up one of his worst memories. “Fine. How about that row we had on Christmas three years ago when you were already packing your bags to leave?”

“That was awful,” Harry agreed. “But I realized I couldn’t do it. No matter how angry I was, I knew I needed you more than anything. My anger would fade, but my love? Never. Slamming the door would have given me some instant gratification, to be sure. But in the long run, I knew it would be worth the pain of working it out…because we have a lifetime of happiness together awaiting us.”

Severus turned his head to the side. Those damned allergies were affecting his vision, and he didn’t want Harry to think he was doing something as sappy as crying. “As sentimental as always.”

Harry laughed and fell back into Severus’s arms. “Now do you believe me?”

Severus only wrapped his arms tighter around Harry.

 _Perfect. Absolutely perfect._


End file.
